The Government of India in its endeavor to provide the right stimulus for the growth of the industry in the country – particularly with the objective of helping SMEs has established ten Tool Rooms at Aurangabad, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Jalandhar, and Ludhiana. These Tool Rooms provide invaluable service to the Indian industry by way of precision tooling and providing skilled manpower in the area of tool and die making.
The setting up of these Tool Rooms led to the dawn of a new era in the field of tooling and co-related activities in India. Today these Tool Rooms are highly proficient in mould and die making technology and promote precision and quality in the development and manufacture of sophisticated moulds, dies, and tools. Each Tool Room has achieved the apex position in its respective region.
Not only are the Tool Rooms equipped with the best technology, but they are also abreast with the latest advancements in the field and periodically add new technology like CAD/CAM, CNC machining for Tooling, Vacuum Heat Treatment, Rapid Prototyping, etc.
The Tool Rooms are concentrating on an Integrated Development of the related segments of industries by way of providing International Quality Tools, Trained Personnel, and Consultancy in tooling and related areas and are constantly crossing new frontiers in the quest for excellence and beyond.
The Tool Rooms have also developed special training programmes to meet the requirements at the international level. Tool Rooms are conducting training programmes for international participants sponsored under various agreements to Govt. of India like Technical Co-operation Scheme of Colombo (TCS), Special Commonwealth African Assistant Programme (SCAAP), Indian Technical and Economic Co-operation (ITEC), Aid to Sri Lanka, etc. in the areas of Tool Design, Manufacture, Low-Cost Automation, CAD/CAM, etc. The participants from all over the globe are undergoing the training.
Tool Rooms are equipped with state-of-the-art machinery and support facilities. All the Tool Rooms adhere to the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM). They are ISO 9001-2000 certified institutions and a few of them are ISO-14000 and OHSAS-18000 certified. Central Tool Room & Training Centre, Bhubaneswar is also AS-9100 certified for Aerospace Component Supply.
The facilities of the Tool Rooms allow for the design and manufacture of sophisticated medium and small-size tools. These tools are in conformity with international standards. The latest hardware and software ensure the professional design of tools and 3D solid modeling.
Surface modeling and analysis for product development along with reverse engineering and rapid prototyping are additional features.
The Production Centres of the Tool Rooms offer an array of cutting-edge production services. These comprise the manufacture of press tools, moulds, jigs, fixtures, gauges, die casting dies, manufacture of standard parts and components, and carry out precision job work.
In addition, these institutes provide technical services such as the design of tools, dies, moulds, and similar products, materials testing, heat treatment, quality control, and technical consultancy related to the manufacture or application of tools.
For effective utilization of the high-tech facilities, each Production Centre relies on a team of experienced specialists: design and production engineers, plant supervisors, foremen, and skilled workers, e.g. tool and die makers, fitters, and machine operators.
The Tool Rooms believes in TQM Philosophy. This belief s evident in the procedures adopted for ensuring quality before and after manufacture. High precision equipment like CNC Coordinate Measuring Machine, Electronic Height Master, CNC Profile Projector, and Tool Maker’s Microscope ensure thorough checking of the components. A full-fledged standards room also offers calibration services as per ISO-9001 requirements.
The Tool Rooms are equipped with different ranges of mechanical & hydraulic presses and microprocessor-controlled injection molding machines. These machines are being used for tryout purposes of the tools, dies, and moulds and also for component production.
Our high precision components and assemblies are being used not only by MSMEs but also by defense factories, aerospace sector (ISRO and HAL), aeronautical factories, automobile sector, engineering industry, among others”. Says S. Maity, General Manager, Central Tool Rooms & Training Centre, Bhubaneswar. The story is the same for all tool rooms.
The Tool Rooms’ philosophy of Integrated Solution for Indian industrial growth is based on the provision of trained, skilled, and innovative manpower. Well-structured, modular, practically oriented long-term training programs are the main focus of the Tool Rooms.
However, having realized the need to update and upgrade the skills of the existing technical personnel, the Tool Rooms have introduced numerous courses – both regular and tailor-made ones – to meet the specific needs of the industry. All courses are regularly upgraded to keep abreast with global technological advancements. Various levels of courses, viz., certificate, diploma, advanced diploma, post-diploma, postgraduate diploma, and postgraduate courses offered by Tool Rooms are accepted by the industries in India and abroad for employment purposes.
Training facilities in the above field called for sophisticated equipment to keep pace with the development elsewhere in the world. It also demands a team of teaching staff, who have acquired practical & theoretical knowledge to equip the trainees to act independently and to lead to a team on the shop floor. “Students trained by our Tool Rooms are well received by industries, which is evident from nearly 100% placement of long-term trainees,” says H.D. Kapse, General Manager, Indo German Tool Room, Aurangabad.
At a time when technological development, growth, and employment generation are closely related, the role of these tool rooms is very significant as they are serving as a nursery for developing entrepreneurial spirit and fostering the growth of the SME sector. As against 40000 people trained by the Tool Rooms during last year, it is expected to touch figure 50,000 this year.
Since 2003, with the objective of opening avenues of gainful employment for school dropouts, the Tool Room has been offering one year programme for children who have studied up to tenth class. After training them, they are being helped to get placements in automobiles, white goods, the engineering industry, etc. On average in every batch, each tool room trains and makes about 40 school dropouts ready for the job market.
“We are in the process of standardizing our training programmes by benchmarking them with International Training Institutes of repute like Fraunhofer Institute of Technology, Germany in order to improve their acceptability in national & international arena,” says R.K. Rai, Director (Tool Room), Office of Development Commissioner (MSME).
Apart from assisting State Governments for setting up of Tool Rooms, MSME- Tool Rooms have also successfully executed international assignments for setting up Tool Rooms and Vocational Training Centres as well as training of trainers for developing countries like Zimbabwe, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tajakistan etc.
The Tool Rooms over the years, have developed expertise in various aspects of tool engineering including skill development and can offer the following services:
- Conducting surveys and studies to identify the tooling and related skill requirements in particular areas, regions, or in the country.
- Providing turnkey assistance to set up Tool Room & Training Centres
- Providing consultancy to existing engineering industries in upgrading their production facilities, selection of machine tools, a design consultancy for tools, molds, dies, jigs & fixtures, etc.
- Providing specialized tailor-made training courses after identifying the needs.
- Providing consultancy to existing training institutes in course design and curriculum development including trainers training programmes.
- Assistance in product design, tool design, and manufacturing of intricate toolings
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